


Never Like This Before

by MistressAkira



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: If | Fire Emblem: Fates
Genre: Age Difference, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, But mostly fluff, F/M, Fluff and Angst, OTP Feels, Saizou be my valentine, Secret Relationship, Valentine's Day, Valentine's Day Fluff, but sakura is legal it's okay, but yeah age difference of like twelve years, ryoma the cockblocker, sakura too, takumi and his boyfriend are mentioned for like a second
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-18
Updated: 2017-02-18
Packaged: 2018-09-25 06:01:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,454
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9806381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MistressAkira/pseuds/MistressAkira
Summary: It's Valentine's day, and Saizou had planned the perfect date for Sakura. That is, if her big brother doesn't throw a wrench into it. But through some introspection, and a few mishaps, it may turn out better this way.Modern AU where Sakura's a junior in high school and Saizou is a bodyguard secretly dating his boss' baby sister. What could go wrong?





	

**Author's Note:**

> hAPPY (belated) VALENTINE'S DAY YOU NERDS
> 
> So I tried to post this on Valentine's Day but A03 had like a stroke and everything was horrible so I was just like fuck it, I'll post it later this week. So I'm posting it. Dear god, I'm so sick for this pair. I haven't shipped something straight as hard as this since Lon'qu/Miriel from FE:A. Btw, Sakura is seventeen which is the median age for legal consent, so no worries.
> 
> I own a cactus that i got last year for Valentine's day that miraculously is still alive, even though I periodically forget it exists. I do not own Fire Emblem.

Sakura played with her pen, shifting her gaze between it, the wall clock, and the mess she has made herself. Her fingers were covered in pink ink from spinning it between them; there were spots of ink on her notes from when she dropped it.

Goodness she was so nervous.

Hana had been watching her out of the corner of her eye most of class. Was it that obvious? _It was so obvious._ Sakura was blatantly ignoring her friend’s glances, instead staring at the paper in front of her like it held the secrets to the universe; it did not. It did however have several hearts in various sizes with her and another’s initials written inside them.

That wasn’t helping in the least.

The moment their teacher finished the lesson, Hana spun towards Sakura with a stern look on her face- the face that was at once too intense for a girl of Hana's size and simultaneously her signature look.

“Relax. It’s going to be fine.”

Sakura squeaked at her tone. “I’m… not sure.”

Hana smacked the desk with a hand, drawing the attention of a few students. Hana ignored them. Sakura felt like they were staring straight into her soul. “It either will or it won’t. But it’s only going to work if you let it.”

Sakura drew her gaze up from her notes to look Hana directly in the eyes. Her gaze was heavy but she smiled brightly and gave Sakura an encouraging nod. She found herself smiling back at her friend; she felt a little better now. She could do this.

It was then her phone decided to chime in her bag. The text sound made Sakura jump; seeing the sender made her heart jump even higher.

_Just checking in._

The text was short, straight to the point like he always was. Hana raised an eyebrow at her. Sakura smiled at her phone and sent back an equally short reply.

_I’m okay. How are you?_

The response came barely a second later.

_Fine._

He was never much one for texting. The fact he even attempted it for her sake was incredible. He preferred to talk over the phone, and usually called her after he got off work most nights. In fact it was one of those normal calls that had been the cause of all of this, just a few nights ago.

Holding her breath, Sakura asked the question that’d been on her mind all day.

_Is everything still okay for tonight?_

The response took longer to arrive this time.

_Yes. Ryoma gave me the night off because of his date. It’s at 7. I’ll pick you up at 8._

Sakura let out her breath. Relief and panic rushed over her in equal measure. She was about to text him back a smiley face when he texted her again.

_I’ve got to go to sleep now. We were up late last night. See you later._

Sakura deleted her text at that and turned off her phone screen; she didn’t want to risk interrupting his sleep. Poor man hardly slept as it was.

Hana was eying her with a knowing smirk on her face when she finally looked up from her dark phone screen.

“So?”

“He’s picking me up at eight.” Sakura’s face broke into an huge smile.

Hana patted her hand, giving her a great big grin in return. “Seeeee? It’ll be great. Your brother won’t suspect a thing.”

The bell rung then, signaling the move to fourth period. The day was already half over. The thought drove Sakura’s heart higher within her rib cage.

The day was half over, and in eight hours she’d be meeting up with him for their valentine’s day date. Her brother would never know, and everything would be absolutely wonderful.

Sakura sighed as she grabbed her bag and followed behind Hana as they made their way to their next class, filled with the hope and cautious optimism of a girl in love for the first time.

* * *

 

Saizou was still looking at his phone, even after he’d sent her the text saying he was going to bed. She hadn’t replied. That shouldn’t unnerve him as much as it was.

She was in school right now, _of course._ It was improbable she’d be able to text back as quickly as he’d like. She was _at school._

Saizou was dating a high schooler. And if that wasn’t bad enough- and illegal up until just recently- he was dating his boss’s baby sister, twelve years younger than him. Every now and again that thought hit him right between the eyes and made him regret everything he’d ever done with his life to lead him here.

Along with the fact Saizou had also dated Ryoma’s secretary Kagerou for a while too, it seemed like he was destined to risk his job on romances right under his boss’s nose. It made sleeping well down right near impossible some nights.

But thinking about all the good it- she- had brought into his life made everything that threatened it seem small in comparison. Sakura was the kindest person he’d ever met; this was a kind of a turn off when they originally met when she was fifteen, always asking about him and how his day was, was he sleeping, was he taking care of himself as well as he took care of her brother. As a bodyguard for the heir of a multi-billion dollar corporation, Saizou was used to hiding in the shadows, serving his boss out of sight, and keeping as many secrets from the public about himself as possible. But she was always worrying about him. They only saw each other when he’d pick up Ryoma at his house (where he lived with his two youngest siblings- his other sister, Hinoka was already in college and lived in a dorm- as their legal guardian after their step-mother died a few years back) or when she made the trip to their office headquarters, but she always made a point to talk with him.

And over time, all he wanted to do was see her. He knew so much about her already, through her brother and all the boasting he did as a proud one, it was incredible he hadn’t thought anything about it until then- and then he wanted to know everything else.

So Saizou fell in love with a girl over a decade younger than him.

She was wise beyond her years at the very least. It didn’t feel like talking with a child when they were together. She had self-confidence issues and so she was a little shy sometimes, but Saizou figured that came with the territory; she was a _seventeen year old girl._

But she also possessed such a drive and compassion for others. Since before they’d even met, she’d wanted to be a nurse to help people. Now as a junior, she was already taking pre-med classes at the local college through her school’s dual enrollment program. Everything she did was for others and she had the damn biggest heart of anyone Saizou’s ever known.

And it was her big heart that made him so selfish with her.

They’d been seeing each other for over a year now, but the times they were actually able to be together as a couple had been few and far between. Saizou’s life revolved around Ryoma’s schedule, and Sakura had school. The only dates they’d been able to go on were when Ryoma was out of town; except, that was, for the one they’d planned for tonight.

Valentine’s day was like any other day to Saizou. He and Kagerou nor any of his past relationships had ever made a big deal about it; they were adults with lives that went beyond some day a bunch of morons decided was the _single_ day of the year one was supposed to prove they loved someone on. But to Sakura, it was the epitome of everything she’d expected a relationship to culminate on, and he didn’t hate her for it- she was a _seventeen year old girl._

So Saizou did what he does best: making shit happen. Ryoma announced that he had a date for tonight- February 14th-  about a week ago, and Saizou had gone into action, setting up everything for the perfect date for Sakura: reservations at a nice restaurant, flowers, the whole nine yards. All of their previous dates had been small, simple affairs, things like movies at his place and cooking for her, or going out for ice cream (more accurately, she got ice cream and he watched and tried not to faint from the stench of sugar) after one of her late-night college classes; they’d also been to the aquarium once, but that was about as outlandish as it got for Saizou as far as dating went. But something made him want to work doubly hard for Sakura, to make everything exactly like she’d want it to be, even if she never voiced it aloud.

He’d never been in love like this before. Something about being Sakura’s first love was probably part of it.

Saizou forced himself from his thoughts. He needed to sleep; he’d been up late at an event with Ryoma last night -though who the fuck holds a party on a Monday night during the middle of the month?- and needed sleep if he was going to make it through tonight.

He’d never admit it, but he was nervous.

* * *

 

The day came and went, and in a blink of an eye, Sakura was home and getting ready for tonight. She’d just gotten out of the shower, and was blow drying her hair, a dozen or so different hair clips spread about her vanity. She couldn’t decide what to wear, so she'd simply laid out every option. A half-dozen dresses were tossed about her room, one’s she had tried on again and again, thought were perfect but then doubted herself and took it off, only to repeat the process with the same dress and several others before she’d given up to go blow dry her hair.

She didn’t have a clue what Saizou had planned for the night. Only that he told her to dress up.

And she could spend forever in front of the mirror, trying on outfits and trying to figure out what he might like, but reaching the same conclusion over and over again: _I look like a child._

She thought she’d wear red, it was his favorite color, but it just look strange with her ginger colored hair and eyes; she thought black might make her look more mature, but it did nothing but prove she had nothing to accentuate; she tried white, but with her clumsiness, it was inevitable she’d spill something on it and look like a fool; and then when she tried pink, she just looked like a kid trying not to.

It was nerve wracking. Her hands were shaking as she combed through her hair, but she kept reminding herself to be positive. She repeated Hana’s words over in her mind, turning them into a mantra: _it’s only going to work if you let it._

And Sakura wanted it to.

Putting up her hairdryer, she rearranged her cosmetics on her vanity to kill time. She wasn’t going to finish getting ready until Ryoma left for his date; she and Hana had worked out her cover, and as far as Ryoma knew, Sakura was having a sleepover with Hana tonight and wouldn’t be home until tomorrow. Truthfully, after their date, Saizou was just going to drop Sakura back off at home, and once her brother woke up in the morning she’d just tell him that Hana had to drop her off early because of a prior engagement.

It should be foolproof. It had to be. Sakura couldn’t bear to think what would happen if they got caught. But something about going out on the most romantic day of the year, with her _older boyfriend,_ right under her brother’s nose had a kind of allure to it. It was like something she’d read in a book, and she was the heroine determined to be with her true love even if the universe conspired against it.

The thought made her blush.

Her phone beeped, and she checked it to see a text message from Hana. Within was just the picture of a thumbs up emoji and the time stamp. It was ten till seven. Ryoma would be leaving any time now. She wandered downstairs to grab a drink from the kitchen, watching over her shoulder for her brother. She outright loitered at the counter, putting ice cubes in her water one at a time until she heard a door close upstairs followed by footsteps coming down.

She turned with her glass in hand as Ryoma emerged from the stairwell, dressed in one of his loose shirts and a nicer pair of jeans, hair slicked back, fiddling with his keys. She couldn’t help grinning at him; he always looked good in everything.

Glancing up at her, he saw her smile. Standing up straighter, he put his hands on his hips and asked, “Do I look alright?”

“Yeah.”

He dropped his keys in his pocket, grabbing the blazer he’d left over a chair earlier and throwing it on. “Excellent. She wouldn’t tell me what she had in mind, so I just went with something casual.” He approached her and locked Sakura between his arms in a hug. “I’ll be home late tonight, so don’t worry about me. Have fun with Hana tonight.”

“O-of course!” Sakura lamented the moment her voice cracked with nerves. “B-but have fun. Be safe. See you tomorrow.”

Pulling away and patting her on the shoulder, Ryoma turned to go. “Goodnight. I love you.”

She waved to his as he closed the door. “Love you.”

And then, all was quiet.

Sakura had the entire house to herself now; Takumi had gone straight from school to his boyfriend’s house, though no one except Sakura knew about _that_ , and he wasn’t due home until later. She could get ready to go on her date, and Saizou could actually ring the doorbell and meet her at the door instead of her having to sneak out. It was going to work.

Her enthusiasm rekindled, Sakura dashed back upstairs to finish getting ready. Setting up the curling iron, she went about attempting to figure out what to wear. Scrutinizing the dresses she had tossed about, she decided on the pink one against the odds. It had a fluffy skirt and spaghetti straps, and even if it made her look like a child, it made her look like a _pretty_ child.

She pinned her bangs back, applying her makeup (and only accidentally getting eyeliner in her eye once!) and curling her hair. Pulling on her dress, she completed the outfit with tights, her white mini-heeled sandals, a white clutch, and a pale pink hair ribbon that matched her dress perfectly.

Standing in front of the mirror, she felt pretty. She felt ready. She felt worthy.

Checking the clock it was quarter to eight, so she grabbed her phone and made her way back downstairs to wait. She washed her water glass in the sink, and checked her phone for any new messages. There were none, and she was settling on the couch to text Hana when she heard the front door open.

She froze. The door clicked shut.

No one was supposed to be home.

Sakura’s heart leapt in her chest. Did Saizou have a key to their house? He’d never mentioned it, but it wouldn’t surprise her if he did. She threw herself up from the couch, half running to entry hall.

If he had a key, wouldn’t he have told her? Maybe Takumi came home early?

Her heart was in her throat by the time she rounded the corner to the hall and saw who it was.

Ryoma was kicking off his shoes, blazer over his shoulder and shirt open. Sakura squeaked when she saw him. He glanced over his shoulder, seemingly surprised she was here.

“Sakura, you’re still here? I thought you would’ve gone to Hana’s by now.”

“Ah…” Sakura couldn’t find the words to cover her terror.

Ryoma faced back away for a moment, finishing with his shoes. “Sorry if I scared you. My date canceled on me last moment, so I just went ahead and came home.” He turned to her, mouth open to say something else but stopped once he saw what she was wearing. “Were… you going somewhere?”

Sakura felt her face burst in flames, her blush burning all the way to her hairline. “Umm… no. Just o-over to H-Hana’s…”

Ryoma raised an eyebrow. “Dressed like that?” Something seemed to click in his mind then and he gave her a new look. “Sakura, are you-“

“NO! Gods, no! I-“ Sakura felt her heart drop so hard, she was sure it was plummeting into the center of the earth. “I was just playing dress up… I know, silly me.” She played with the hem of her dress, hating herself and everything that came out her mouth fiercely at the moment. “It’s childish. I-I was just going to change. Excuse m-me…”

She flew up the stairs, leaving a befuddled Ryoma behind her. She was trying not to cry before she reached her room, but didn’t succeed. She had mascara running down her cheeks by the time she finally looked in the mirror. Everything was falling apart. It shouldn’t be, but it felt like it was her fault.

Wiping her cheek, she grabbed her phone. First and foremost, she had to text Saizou and tell him what happened; she could have a breakdown later, but she had to make sure he didn’t get in trouble first.

After the text was sent, she forced herself up and over to her closet. Sakura carefully took off her dress, hanging it back up on its hanger. She then removed her shoes and placed them neatly on the shelf along with the rest of them. She didn’t bother with her tights, instead throwing on a pair of soft shorts over them and a long-sleeved sweater over that.

Going back to the mirror, Sakura took a wet wipe and cleaned up the mascara streaks down her face. Stepping back, it looked like only the mascara had gotten messed up from her crying; her eyeshadow and lipstick still looked fine so she left them alone. A little reminder that she’d tried. And that she inevitably failed, but she had tried nonetheless.

Eventually, she made herself go back downstairs. Even if she couldn’t spend it with Saizou, she could still cuddle up with her brother on the couch and watch dumb valentine’s day movies together. She could even make popcorn, and share the little chocolate candies Hana had given her for valentine’s day.

The thought made her feel a little better. She was in the kitchen prepping a bag of popcorn when the doorbell rang. Confused, she set the bag down and made her way to the door.

When she opened it, she felt her heart drop yet again.

Saizou was standing on her porch- just like she’d imagined- hands in his pockets and looking like he’d just walked out of a fashion ad in a red collared shirt (without the top three buttons done up), slim black trousers, and dress shoes. His hair was slicked back and he’d put concealer on over his scar, and looked every bit like the mature man he was.

And here she was in her pajamas and smeared make-up with her brother not twenty feet away.

Saizou’s surprise was evident on his face, and he opened his mouth to say something but Sakura was pushing him back and out of the light from the hallway, slamming the door closed behind her.

“Y-you can’t be here!”

Saizou stepped back, handsome face turning fearsome when he scowled. “What do you mean? I told you I’d be here at eight.”

Sakura shook her head vigorously. “No it’s not that! Ryoma… h-his date canceled on him and h-he’s here now! I-I-“ She voice broke off with a crack as she nearly started to cry again. “You… I don’t w-want you to get in trouble. I sent you a text a-and…”

She cut herself off again. Saizou watched her for a second before pulling out his phone and checking her text. He closed his phone a moment later and turned his face to the ground. He was still scowling and Sakura felt like the worst person to have ever lived.

“I-I’m really sorry. I know you planned out everything tonight, and it was supposed to be special but I’m not dressed to go anywhere a-and… I’m just sorry.”

Her chin had fallen against her chest and she was speaking more to the floor than him- she couldn’t bear to see that disappointed look on his face- and had balled her hands into her sweater and was blabbering like a _complete_ idiot, when she felt a gentle hand on her chin. The hand guided her head up, and she was forced to lock eyes with Saizou.

His red eyes bored into her’s. She couldn’t look away if she tried.

“Enough.”

* * *

 

Saizou was more frustrated at the circumstances than he was at her. But here she was again, taking everything personal and thinking it was her fault.

Saizou hated it when Sakura did that. He also hated when his plans failed and when he disappointed her and when she cried.

But he loved that she cared so much about him. And he loved when she feared for his safety and his happiness and how adorable she looked right now, in short shorts and practically swallowed by her sweater with her makeup smeared in some spots but lips still glossy and full and eyes capable of outshining even the damn moon .

So he had to stop her before she got ahead of herself.

He grabbed her chin and tilted her face up. Her eyes were wide and brimming with tears and he forced her to look at him.

“Enough.”

She sucked in a breath like she was about to start crying. His heart jumped; that was the opposite of what he wanted. He softened his tone.

“I don’t want you to cry over something you can’t control. I don’t want you to cry at all. So stop.”

“B-but… your plans… o-our date…” She sniffled again.

Saizou brought his other hand up, cradling her face in his hands. “It doesn’t matter. It’s not important. What is, is spending time with you.” He let her go, stepping back and putting his hands in his pockets. “We can still have our date tonight. I want to, but it’s up to you.”

Her face lit up for the smallest moment, but then she was staring at the ground again. “I-I’m not dressed to go anywhere. And if I went up and changed Ryoma w-would think something was going on…”

“Then just wear that.”

Sakura lifted her head again, searching his face for something- almost like she expected him to be mocking her. But he wasn’t. He stared back without fear or reservation.

A moment passed, and a huge smile broke out across her face. “Yes. O-okay!” She played with a lock of hair between her fingers as she smiled to herself. “L-let me go grab my bag and phone… and I’ll be right back.”

Saizou nodded back and she smiled again. Sakura turned and slipped back inside, leaving Saizou a little starstruck on the porch. The things this girl’s smile did to him. The things this girl’s tears did to him. The things her sweater and lip-gloss and eyes and _smile_ did to him.

He really had never been in love like this before.

* * *

 

The date ended up being everything Sakura had hoped for.

Different, yes, but she wouldn’t have traded anything for it.

When Ryoma asked about the door, Sakura just told him it was Hana picking her up. He said goodbye again, and though she prayed that her brother wouldn’t come over to the window to watch her off and see Saizou’s bright red sports car pulling away, she couldn’t stop smiling. Saizou kept watching her the entire time he was driving, and that only made her smile even more.

He called and canceled the dinner reservations Saizou’d set up for them, and they just ordered sushi instead, picking it up and going out to the beach. They ate on one of the benches on the boardwalk, everything dark besides the stars. They’d made quiet conversation over the lull of the waves, walking hand and hand over the dark sand dunes after eating.

Saizou then took her to the rose garden at the botanical gardens in central park, everything red and pink and lit up for Valentine’s day. It was crowded and with all the couples there, no one noticed the tiny girl in a large sweater and tall man in designer clothes as they went about the bushes like everyone else. The rest of botanical gardens were open as well, including the area of the park where the cherry blossom trees were. They weren’t in bloom yet, but Sakura stole a kiss under them.

Lastly, he gave her the chocolates he’d bought earlier from her favorite patisserie and she ate them happily as they sat on the park fountain’s rim and enjoyed the silence away from the crowds. Saizou kissed her there, and though he grimaced at the taste of chocolate on her lips, Sakura apologized and he kissed her again.

She was dozing off by the time he’d finally brought her home. He rousted her with a gentle hand, helping her out of the car and half guiding her to the door. At the stoop, she hopped up on the step so Sakura could look him at eye level as she hugged him tight for the last time that evening.

“I love you.” She smiled sleepily into his neck.

Saizou sighed gruffly, but held her back. “I love you too.”

Sharing a final kiss, she squeezed his hand and went inside. A light was on in the kitchen, and when she rounded the corner, she found Takumi with his head in the refrigerator, leftovers from the night before and a fork in hand.

His hair was a mess and his t-shirt was doing nothing to hide the marks along the base of his neck. Takumi’s eyes were tired but met hers with an amused look and continued chewing slowly on the fork in his hand.

“Have a good night?”

Sakura’s sleepy grin spread even further across her face. “Yeah. A good night.”

 

**Author's Note:**

> Shameless self-plug for my other Saikura fic if you love this ship as much as I do.
> 
> In Bloom: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7607413


End file.
